October 18, 2001-Vol33n7: Q&A

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 6

THURSDAY, October 11, 2001

Mary Gresham, vice president for public service and urban affairs and dean of the Graduate School of Education, is chairing the 2001 SEFA campaign.

Gresham

How's the SEFA campaign going?
Currently, UB is at 46 percent of its goal for the campaign. We have received SEFA pledge forms from 1,350 employees. The SEFA Kick-Off on Sept. 20 showed the tremendous support the SEFA campaign enjoys in the UB community. We look forward to a lot of activity in the next couple of weeks as the campaign continues. For example, I hope everyone will attend the SEFA Cookie Bake-Off today at noon in the Student Union. Janice Okun, food editor for The Buffalo News, will be one of the judges. The liaisons have been doing a wonderful job disseminating and collecting forms, and encouraging colleagues to contribute to the SEFA campaign.

Western New Yorkers have been very generous in contributing to the various funds to aid the victims of the terrorist attacks. How has this affected the SEFA/United Way campaigns?
The events of Sept. 11 have affected all of us. Individuals have had to make some very difficult decisions on how these events impact on their lives and how they can contribute to various relief efforts established to address the aftermath of the attacks. Although many existing philanthropic agencies have noticed decreases in giving since the events of Sept. 11, the outpouring of monetary and humanitarian support to special relief funds in a time of crisis is encouraging. We trust that our UB community will continue to support the SEFA campaign at the levels of giving we have been known for in the past, both locally and nationally, and that we will be successful in realizing our UB SEFA goals.

We all have only so much money to contribute to charities, and many people already have given to these other funds. Why is it important that we continue to support SEFA and the United Way?
The need for the services provided by the various agencies supported by the United Way and the State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) has not gone away. While there are immediate concerns that are being addressed by special disaster relief funds, the health and human services needs of individuals in our region and in our nation are ongoing and will be supported with the funds collected in the SEFA campaign. Local agencies supported by SEFA funds, such as Crisis Services, the Buffalo chapter of the American Red Cross, Life Transitions Center, Child and Family Services, all contributed personnel and money to relief efforts downstate as a result of the terrorist attacks, in addition to carrying on with their daily agency responsibilities. By contributing to SEFA, the University at Buffalo again demonstrates its commitment to the community.

There are so many worthy SEFA/United Way agencies to contribute to, I don't know how to designate my gift. What's the Community Care Fund?
The Community Care Fund is part of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. The United Way Community Care Fund is a great way to do the most good with a single contribution. This fund invests in more than 200 caring, results-driven local programs; uses trained, knowledgeable volunteers to distribute the funds in local programs that do the most good, and evolves to meet the constantly changing needs in our community. Programs receiving funds through the United Way Community Care Fund are held to rigorous standards and are subject to regular reviews of their operations, programs and financial status.

What question do you wish I had asked, and how would you have answered it?
I believe that you've asked some important questions, but I would like to reiterate something I've already pointed out. That is, it is extremely important to continue to support the hundreds of local SEFA agencies that respond to crises in our region on a daily basis. Every day, a life is saved or someone is helped who has nowhere else to turn because of the work done by our local SEFA agencies. We've all focused on the events of 9/11 as is appropriate, but it is no substitute for supporting the hard work and demonstrated commitment of these well-run, established agencies. I hope everyone will give generously this year.